It's a very solid album. If u sit there and was hoping 4 a 93-97 sound, ur gonna to be very disappointed. U have to judge the LP for what it is. It's 2014 and the Wu will never go back to that classic stage. However,u can enjoy the album... if u don't try to compare it. Meth sounds hungry again & even U God sounds motivated. Cappa could have been left off the album.

It's a 2014 Rza- album ft the Clan. A lot of live instruments. What made Rza great,was his ability to put the Clan in the best position to succeed. Rza was great making tracks for each member to sound dope. Some verses sound forced. While others were outstanding. Most of the beats are good,just not for every Clan member to spit to.I'll be bumping it. It's better than most of the trash that's out there. IMO,its better than the last LP. Rating 3.75 out 5 stars

Voted dope. Album's grown on me. I think it's pretty cohesive. Not really feeling 40th Street Black (chorus), Crushed Egos (beat) and Wu-Tang Reunion (too corny). Some other choruses which were initial turn offs have grown on me like everything going on in 'Miracle' and Nathaniel on 'Keep Watch'. (Not so much on 'Ron O'Neal'.)

Cappa wasn't worse on here than in the last few years, but it's not as if he's peaking here either. From all of his verses I liked the one on 'Felt' best.

At first I was feeling kinda indifferent to Ghost's verses on the album but they have grown on me.

Meth, Rae, Masta Killa and U-God came correct. INS was solid in places, someone on here stated I expect too much from him and that poster is probably right. GZA's verses were good but they didn't always seem to fit the other verses. But I gotta admit sometimes parts of GZA verses kinda go over my head at first (not a native English speaker), I gotta listen some more. I do get the impression GZA unloaded some 'Dark Matter' verses here without rewriting them for specific songs on ABT.

Dopest songs to me are, in this specific order:

1. 'Hold The Heater' (absolute classic, love the verses and the simple but very effective chorus)

2. 'Felt' (extremely dope 2014 Wu, this is the kinda song I would have expected on U-God's next solo album)

3. 'Pioneer The Frontier' (sounds like a Wu joint for a soundtrack in the 90s, excellent song, I don't share the feeling that there's too much going on with the beat)

4. 'Necklace' (4th nailed it, what else can I say, the chorus doesn't stall the song imo)

5. 'Never Let Go' (very good concept song, RZA did have some good ideas for concept songs but I do understand some generals not feeling RZA telling them what to write about)

6. 'Ruckus in B Minor' (good verses except for INS and Cappa ; Rae and MK really shine, I like the beat switch up for Rae and MK and in fact I like the constantly changing beat earlier on in the song as well, good call by Rick Rubin to get some ODB ad libs on here)

4,5
Im listening it now, for cca 40 times. Every time is better and better.
But on the first listening, was on many songs like wtf is that. But now, this album is crazy more and more.
Wu 4 ever and ever!
yea

It’s the review of my brother The Dark face Killer because me I don’t give a fuck of this album.
Wu tang clan is certainly the greatest hip hop group of all the time. 9 motherfuckers who changed the face of the hip hop game. Countless great tracks, many great albums, unpredictable style and numerous diehard fans around the world like me. When I heard that they wanted to release a new album, I said what the fuck? The previous album was not exactly what I expected. And I don’t like the way some motherfuckers like Rae and Ghost dissed the album. Fuck that! I hoped this time they would be on the same wavelength. I don’t give a fuck what Rae or some motherfuckers like him say. He is not my favorite member and the only great album he released is OBCL. When your discography is pure crap just shut the fuck up. Let’s talk about the new album. I listened to the singles but I didn’t like them at all. I hoped they would grow in me but I expected the album to be cohesive and these singles to be just like pieces of a puzzle. I listened to the album many times and what I can say that certainly will be the last Wu album I will buy.
Good tracks: 40th Street Black/We Will Fight, Mistaken Identity, Miracle, Necklace (really dope), Never Let Go (could be classic without that awful hooks)
Average tracks: Preacher's Daughter (That fucking hooks ruins it), Ruckus In B Minor, A Better Tomorrow, Pioneer The Frontier (it could be a great track without these crappy noises that ruin it)
I don’t like the other songs at all! I don’t give a fuck what someone else thinks. I don’t say it’s wack even if some tracks are pure crap like Wu-tang reunion and Ron O'Neal. I know Rza worked hard but the results are mixed. He certainly wants to grow as a musician. I am an artist too so I can understand that even if I think he will never be a great musician.
I remember when they released Wu forever Rza said in a French magazine that when he created a beat he asked to his brothers if it was fat. First Wu albums were strong because they were teamwork and cooperation of all of its members. Rza was respected because other members really loved the beats he created. Nowadays they live in different worlds so the group is done. What they did was a terrible example of not listening to each other. He can’t be the de facto leader of the group because he has lost his mojo. So I hope it will be the last Wu album. I advise Rza to create a new group that will understand him and accept him as the leader.
6/10.
The Dark Face Killer.

* This is the least Wu-sounding Wu album I ever listened to. It's so not Wu that it's kinda distracting. I needed to make effort not to think it's the Clan I'm listening to in order to enjoy it.

* Drums. Okay, I'm dumb and intrigued by the drum, but most of those are just big and empty, without LF, if you know what I mean. And they're, mostly, kinda lazy. Cool that they used live drums for change, but you need to make more than kick - snare - kick - snare to get a banging beat.

* It's too long. I mean, at Ron O'Neill I had to make a pause because I stopped caring. Mind that otherwise I can always listen to Wu-Tang Forever in one sitting.

But yeah, apart from that, a good, solid album, no real standouts and no real misfires. And Wu can still rap circles around anyone.

I gave it a 3 on this scale.

EDIT: Yeah, one more thing: the fuck is with GZA's voice and flow? He's supposed to be rapping for forty years and now he sounds like he's trying too hard for the first time in his career.

__________________

"The Devil is not the Prince of Matter; the Devil is the arrogance of the spirit, faith without smile, truth that is never seized by doubt. The Devil is grim because he knows where he is going, and, in moving, he always returns whence he came."

3.5. Not bad, but there's a few times on here I found myself shaking my head. '40th Street Black/We Will Fight' and 'Miracle' are HORRIBLE! I hate them so much. People actually like 'Miracle'??? It's like a KC and JoJo song or some shit... and the ending with everything building like it's Muse... FUCCkkkKK it shits me.

Necklace, Crushed Egos and Preacher's Daughter are my favourite tracks on here. Not bad overall. I'm glad they didn't have any guest spots (which is something that almost ruined The W album).

It's a good solid album with some nice tracks. But I have mixed feelings on it. Of course it's the Wu and I'll always check for it, but at the same time it just feels like the chemistry is so off with the group and the creative differences still exist.

Miracle could have been such a dope track if not for that hook. It just didn't belong and then that ending part where it got all alternative rock on us. Nah. Didn't work for me. And it's a shame because the beat was nice and the verses were on point, especially Deck.

Wu Tang Reunion was too cliché. Pure filler.

We Will Fight is just underwhelming.

Ditto for the title track. Plus they already have a song they made years ago with that title.

Ron O'Neal and Keep Watch were ok, nothing special.

Felt is weird to me. Maybe it'll grow on me.

The rest of the album I like. But it's nothing close to their best work.